Well, worship at Ebenezar's Sunday night was amazing! It was so wonderful to devote an hour and a half to praise. I only knew about half the songs, but I found their lyrics all absolutely beautiful! So that was the most positive experience of the last few days.
I woke up Monday feeling way sicker than I had. But I still went to class, sucked it up, and finally let Rachelle talk me into taking some medication. Hamil Harris, a Washington Post reporter, came and talked to our class, and he was absolutely hilarious! He was quite the character and so entertaining to talk with. We then had community dinner, but only with the WJCers so that the SAPSE (people from CCCU basically accrediting the WJC program) representatives could talk with us afterwards. I was still feeling pretty poorly, albeit functional, through all this so I went to bed at a decent hour.
When I woke up Tuesday I felt horrible. I had thought that Monday was the peak, but apparently it wasn't. And I'll spare the details, but while I was getting ready for the day, it became obvious that my cold/sore throat/congestion had elevated to the flu. Barfing in front of both my editors AND the Sapse reps. seemed like a beyond-embarrassing prospect, not to mention an inhibitor to reporting, so I called in sick, something I rarely ever do and always feel guilty for. I then proceeded to sleep until 2, finally make myself some food and luckily kept it down, talked to my mom for an hour, and finally finished reading The History of Love, which was absolutely amazing! I'm now starting Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- it's interesting trying to wrap my mind around this one while riding the public bus, haha. But anyways, the only time I left my apartment all day yesterday was to go downstairs to watch Obama's speech before Congress at 9. I then went to bed a little after 10.
I'm currently at work, and although I still feel pretty lousy, it's much, much better today. I have already written and filed a story on Latino lawmakers (Luis Gutierrez, in particular) who are traveling to churches in 17 different locations gathering stories on the pain that has ensued from families being ripped apart due to deportation. This has always been an issue I'm very mixed over, so it was interesting to report on and to talk to people about.
And it's warmer today than it was this past week, but I still miss Southern California. In fact, I miss it so much that I just spent some time reading the local news from the Orange County Register. Did you know that a baby in San Juan Capistrano fell 12 feet out of an apartment window and only bruised its head? Or that the children of that crazy couple shot in the Montage Resort are just now finally dropping their charges on the city of Laguna Beach? And I still can't believe all the cuts made to the Saddleback Unified School District ...
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Feeling off kilter
Did you know that some states still have in their constitution that atheists can't be government officials?
Well, I didn't know that either until Thursday. I had to write a brief on how a nonprofit law firm is pushing for Arkansas to ammend their constitution to take out the portion that prohibits atheists from holding public office or testifying in court. SERIOUSLY?? I can't believe that several states still hold that. Well, they don't "hold" it in the sense of enforcing it, but I can't believe that it's technically still in their constitutions. Wow. And after that I made edits to my fairness doctrine article, and there had been further developments because the afternoon before a White House spokesman released a statement that Obama doesn't support the Fairness Doctrine. Surprise, right? Now all the ultra-conservatives can (hopefully) stop giving themselves aneurysms over the issue.
After work a whole bunch of us met up at Nando's Peri-Peri, a Portugese restaurant in Chinatown, for dinner. I got a chicken wrap, and it was pretty good, even though there were issues with my order. There were a ton of sauces that actually had some spice to them, so I was happy. It's difficult to find food here with flavor, but Nando's was good. After we got back to the apartment, I went to bed around 10 ... I know, crazy, right? But I was exhausted, and that was when I had started to get sick.
Friday we had class in the morning, and then Greg invited me and Rachelle to lunch with him and Mimi, and of course we took him up on it. We went to a Chinese/Thai fushion restaurant in Union Station, which was really good. For the second day in a row, there were issues with my order, so it didn't come until after everyone else's, but it was really good, and it was really fun getting to talk with Greg and Mimi.
We then went over the award-winning article "Something the Lord Has Made," which is absolutely amazing. It's about a black man without a college education who helped perform the first open heart surgery. Amazing. We then watched the movie made from it, which wasn't so good, but it was still fun. After that Rachelle, Danielle and I went to Las Positas, an Mexican restuarant in Eastern Market. We were all craving Mexican food, so that was a perfect fix! When we got back, a group was going to watch The Patriot in the WJC lounge, so we all joined. I absolutely love that movie, so it was a good time for sure.
Yesterday (Saturday) we had a community meeting at 11 a.m. that we were informed of the night before. I already knew about the situation, but it was definitely difficult to sit through. Basically, a guy in ASP is getting sent home for breaking covenant (something sex-related), and the girl involved who's a good friend of mine here (and who, as far as I know, didn't break the covenant) left on a plane home without telling anyone a few days ago. I still don't know if she's coming back. But they both need a lot of prayer. A community like this (about 40 students) is the absolute worst for something like this to happen in. Gossip is ridiculous, and I'm so sick of it and of people taking sides and making all these assumptions.
So Rachelle and I got out of it all and went to the American Art Museum and spent three hours going through all three floors. We didn't even get to the portrait half of the museum. It was really relaxing to do this and spend hours perusing different manifestations of human expression. Art is really a spiritual thing to me because in a sense, it's almost like people trying to immitate God. I think it's amazing that He blessed us with the ability to create and to express beauty and emotion. After that we got frozen yogurt at Tangy Sweet (the only fro-yo place out here ... I've been dying without Berry Cool, YogurtLand, Beach Berries, Pink Berry and Red Mango!!) and just dished out on life for a few hours. We processed what's going on with the drama in our program as well as just what's going on in our own lives. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have someone from home here with me.
We went back, made dinner, and then found out about a goodbye party for the guy going home, so we went down for a little bit, and then I went back to the apartment to make some much-needed phone calls. I then left around 8:30 with Mark and Zack to go to a jazz club in Adams Morgan called Columbia Station. We got really lost getting there and ended up walking everywhere, but we got there a bit after 10, which is when the live music starts. It was a really classy "wine and dine" type venue, and I very much enjoyed my shirley temple, carrot cake, and the piece of Mark's pizza that Zack forced me to eat. As always, we had some really funny conversations, which I honestly think result half the time from how different of cultures we've all grown up in -- it's fun talking with people who aren't all southern Californian natives. The music was also really, really fun. The trumpet player was especially amazing, in my opinion. I definitely want to explore and find more jazz clubs like this.
We left around 12 and again, got really lost trying to get to the metro station. We ended up in a very suburban, foresty-type area with huge stone houses, and it was absolutely beautiful. If we had to get lost, it was definitely amazing to get lost in a place that made you feel like you were out of the city. I think that Mark and Zack, who are from Ohio and Louisana, especially enjoyed that. We wandered for a long time, and I had to keep reminding Zack that it's not the best idea to pull out a map at 1 a.m. at a street corner and betray that you are lost as can be, but we made it to the metro eventually and got home around 2. Overall, a really fun night.
I was going to get up at 10 this morning and go to church with Rachelle, but I woke up and about died. I've had a sore throat these last few days, but today I also have the lovely combination of dizziness and a very screwed up voice. Anyways, I just went back to sleep and woke up around 1 p.m., and Rachelle actually did the same thing. I think we were both really emotionally drained from yesterday on top of everything. But we went downstairs, and it turned out that several of our roommates hadn't gone to church either (probably for the same reasons), and we all made lunch. I put together minestrone soup and toast, and we also established that we really, really need to go grocery shopping, so I think we're doing that this afternoon. I think I'm going to a worship service at 6 at Ebenezar's tonight, though, so that should be good.
I was really thrown for a loop with everything that's happened these last few days, and it's difficult knowing what to think or how to act. All that I know is that I can pray. And not contribute to the gossip and call people on it who are. But it's been testing. And on top of that, it's just been a weird week in general. A few things earlier in the week hit be kind of strangely, and now I just really, really miss all my friends at Biola. It's always in times when things get a little more difficult that I remember exactly how blessed I am by those people, and how they are always the most amazing people to talk to and get encouragement and support from. I'm excited that I'll be seeing them in 2 1/2 months -- yes, I'm counting, haha. And I had a dream about wanting to hang out with my sister, Kelsie, last night, so Kelsie -- feel very special, haha.
Well, I didn't know that either until Thursday. I had to write a brief on how a nonprofit law firm is pushing for Arkansas to ammend their constitution to take out the portion that prohibits atheists from holding public office or testifying in court. SERIOUSLY?? I can't believe that several states still hold that. Well, they don't "hold" it in the sense of enforcing it, but I can't believe that it's technically still in their constitutions. Wow. And after that I made edits to my fairness doctrine article, and there had been further developments because the afternoon before a White House spokesman released a statement that Obama doesn't support the Fairness Doctrine. Surprise, right? Now all the ultra-conservatives can (hopefully) stop giving themselves aneurysms over the issue.
After work a whole bunch of us met up at Nando's Peri-Peri, a Portugese restaurant in Chinatown, for dinner. I got a chicken wrap, and it was pretty good, even though there were issues with my order. There were a ton of sauces that actually had some spice to them, so I was happy. It's difficult to find food here with flavor, but Nando's was good. After we got back to the apartment, I went to bed around 10 ... I know, crazy, right? But I was exhausted, and that was when I had started to get sick.
Friday we had class in the morning, and then Greg invited me and Rachelle to lunch with him and Mimi, and of course we took him up on it. We went to a Chinese/Thai fushion restaurant in Union Station, which was really good. For the second day in a row, there were issues with my order, so it didn't come until after everyone else's, but it was really good, and it was really fun getting to talk with Greg and Mimi.
We then went over the award-winning article "Something the Lord Has Made," which is absolutely amazing. It's about a black man without a college education who helped perform the first open heart surgery. Amazing. We then watched the movie made from it, which wasn't so good, but it was still fun. After that Rachelle, Danielle and I went to Las Positas, an Mexican restuarant in Eastern Market. We were all craving Mexican food, so that was a perfect fix! When we got back, a group was going to watch The Patriot in the WJC lounge, so we all joined. I absolutely love that movie, so it was a good time for sure.
Yesterday (Saturday) we had a community meeting at 11 a.m. that we were informed of the night before. I already knew about the situation, but it was definitely difficult to sit through. Basically, a guy in ASP is getting sent home for breaking covenant (something sex-related), and the girl involved who's a good friend of mine here (and who, as far as I know, didn't break the covenant) left on a plane home without telling anyone a few days ago. I still don't know if she's coming back. But they both need a lot of prayer. A community like this (about 40 students) is the absolute worst for something like this to happen in. Gossip is ridiculous, and I'm so sick of it and of people taking sides and making all these assumptions.
So Rachelle and I got out of it all and went to the American Art Museum and spent three hours going through all three floors. We didn't even get to the portrait half of the museum. It was really relaxing to do this and spend hours perusing different manifestations of human expression. Art is really a spiritual thing to me because in a sense, it's almost like people trying to immitate God. I think it's amazing that He blessed us with the ability to create and to express beauty and emotion. After that we got frozen yogurt at Tangy Sweet (the only fro-yo place out here ... I've been dying without Berry Cool, YogurtLand, Beach Berries, Pink Berry and Red Mango!!) and just dished out on life for a few hours. We processed what's going on with the drama in our program as well as just what's going on in our own lives. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have someone from home here with me.
We went back, made dinner, and then found out about a goodbye party for the guy going home, so we went down for a little bit, and then I went back to the apartment to make some much-needed phone calls. I then left around 8:30 with Mark and Zack to go to a jazz club in Adams Morgan called Columbia Station. We got really lost getting there and ended up walking everywhere, but we got there a bit after 10, which is when the live music starts. It was a really classy "wine and dine" type venue, and I very much enjoyed my shirley temple, carrot cake, and the piece of Mark's pizza that Zack forced me to eat. As always, we had some really funny conversations, which I honestly think result half the time from how different of cultures we've all grown up in -- it's fun talking with people who aren't all southern Californian natives. The music was also really, really fun. The trumpet player was especially amazing, in my opinion. I definitely want to explore and find more jazz clubs like this.
We left around 12 and again, got really lost trying to get to the metro station. We ended up in a very suburban, foresty-type area with huge stone houses, and it was absolutely beautiful. If we had to get lost, it was definitely amazing to get lost in a place that made you feel like you were out of the city. I think that Mark and Zack, who are from Ohio and Louisana, especially enjoyed that. We wandered for a long time, and I had to keep reminding Zack that it's not the best idea to pull out a map at 1 a.m. at a street corner and betray that you are lost as can be, but we made it to the metro eventually and got home around 2. Overall, a really fun night.
I was going to get up at 10 this morning and go to church with Rachelle, but I woke up and about died. I've had a sore throat these last few days, but today I also have the lovely combination of dizziness and a very screwed up voice. Anyways, I just went back to sleep and woke up around 1 p.m., and Rachelle actually did the same thing. I think we were both really emotionally drained from yesterday on top of everything. But we went downstairs, and it turned out that several of our roommates hadn't gone to church either (probably for the same reasons), and we all made lunch. I put together minestrone soup and toast, and we also established that we really, really need to go grocery shopping, so I think we're doing that this afternoon. I think I'm going to a worship service at 6 at Ebenezar's tonight, though, so that should be good.
I was really thrown for a loop with everything that's happened these last few days, and it's difficult knowing what to think or how to act. All that I know is that I can pray. And not contribute to the gossip and call people on it who are. But it's been testing. And on top of that, it's just been a weird week in general. A few things earlier in the week hit be kind of strangely, and now I just really, really miss all my friends at Biola. It's always in times when things get a little more difficult that I remember exactly how blessed I am by those people, and how they are always the most amazing people to talk to and get encouragement and support from. I'm excited that I'll be seeing them in 2 1/2 months -- yes, I'm counting, haha. And I had a dream about wanting to hang out with my sister, Kelsie, last night, so Kelsie -- feel very special, haha.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
In Love with the '80s, a Day of Romancin' and the Fairness Doctrine
Wow, so I have a really, really long update! And this weekend was SO fun too ... where do I even start?Thursday after work I met Danielle, Rachelle and Micaela at Target to find '80s clothes for the club we were going to the next day. I found a fun shirt ... and then Danielle and Micaela talked me into hair dye (which really wasn't that hard, haha) because they were both dying their hair that night. So we got back, watched The Office, and then had a hair dying party in Micaela's apartment! I picked "medium, golden brown," which came out a bit darker and redder than my natural color -- it's not too drastic of a change, but I liked how it turned out.
I had class all day Friday and then a group of us decided to go to the National Press Club for Friday taco night. We all have memberships to the National Press Club, which is absolutely amazing, and every night is taco night -- buy a drink, get free tacos! I had never been there before, but the Press Club is SO nice. Totally classy. And the 8 or so of us who went definitely looked out of place, haha. But it was so much fun, and the food was amazing, and then we spent some time exploring the building and all the rooms and photos on the wall. Absolutely amazing. 
Then Rachelle and I got '80s-uped. And oh did we transform into the '80s! We went with 11 other girls (most were ASP) to this club called The Black Cat, which was having '80s night. Some of them had gone a few weeks before, and they said that it was really fun and void of creepy guys. So basically just a fun place to dance, which was perfect! Anyways, we got there ... and we were definitely the only people who had dressed up for the '80s ... but since we were such a huge group, it definitely didn't matter, and I personally think it just made it more fun! It was a really small venue, and definitely a good place for a group of girls to go who love dancing, but don't want to be bothered by creepers. It was SO much fun! My favorite moment was getting to dance on stage to the A-Ha song "Take On Me!"
Then Saturday was Valentine's Day! We slept in, and then Rachelle and I met our friends Alex, 
Julia and Sharyna in Georgetown for a late lunch. We ate at a Mexican Tapas (appetizer) place and Rachelle and I split chicken kabobs, and then I got scallops. Small portions, but so good! Then we went to an AMAZING cupcake place that just about killed me! It was so good -- I would have to say it beats Sprinkles! After that we walked down by the bay and took pictures. And then a couple came up to Rachelle and the guy asked her to take a picture of them. So she did, and she started to give the guy back his camera when he said, "Hold that thought. You'll want to get this" ... and then he went down on one knee! He proposed to her, and Rachelle took their engagement pictures! Alex and I were just standing there stunned!
Julia and Sharyna in Georgetown for a late lunch. We ate at a Mexican Tapas (appetizer) place and Rachelle and I split chicken kabobs, and then I got scallops. Small portions, but so good! Then we went to an AMAZING cupcake place that just about killed me! It was so good -- I would have to say it beats Sprinkles! After that we walked down by the bay and took pictures. And then a couple came up to Rachelle and the guy asked her to take a picture of them. So she did, and she started to give the guy back his camera when he said, "Hold that thought. You'll want to get this" ... and then he went down on one knee! He proposed to her, and Rachelle took their engagement pictures! Alex and I were just standing there stunned!On the way back, Rachelle and I decided to spice up our V-day and buy each other flowers. So
we stopped at this tiny florist shop where an older Italian guy worked, and he decided that he really liked me. I got several kisses on the cheek and hugs and was mildly creeped out, haha. But we got gorgeous flowers! I got white baby carnations and Rachelle got pink tulips. Then we got back to the apartment, played around with her SLR taking photos of candy hearts (I haven't used one in so long -- it was really fun!), talked with a girl named Christina for a really long time about some pretty intense stuff, and then we made cookies and got cozy in her bunk and watched An Affair to Remember on my laptop. Overall, it was a wonderful Valentine's Day! :)
we stopped at this tiny florist shop where an older Italian guy worked, and he decided that he really liked me. I got several kisses on the cheek and hugs and was mildly creeped out, haha. But we got gorgeous flowers! I got white baby carnations and Rachelle got pink tulips. Then we got back to the apartment, played around with her SLR taking photos of candy hearts (I haven't used one in so long -- it was really fun!), talked with a girl named Christina for a really long time about some pretty intense stuff, and then we made cookies and got cozy in her bunk and watched An Affair to Remember on my laptop. Overall, it was a wonderful Valentine's Day! :)
On Sunday a group of us went to Capital Hill Baptist. The service was long -- 2 hours -- and pretty traditional, but the preacher gave a great expositional sermon. Rachelle was just mad that we had to stand up and sit down so many times. Afterwards there was a free lunch for college students and interns, so we all went to that, and there were so many people there! I met and talked with a few interns for quite a while, so that was interesting getting to meet some new people. We didn't leave until 3 ... and the service had started at 10:30!
We got back and Rachelle and I decided that we wanted to go to the National Zoo ... so we got Zack, Mark, Chris, Jason and Jeremy to go with us! It was cold and pretty late by the time we got there, so we didn't see a ton of animals ... but we did see the red pandas (so cute!!), emus, a fisher cat, zebras and cheetahs. It was fun, but we'll definitely have to go back when it's warmer!
On Monday we got out of class a little early and so Rachelle and I went to Ebenezer's to read ... but it was full, so we went to Corner Bakery at Union Station instead. I absolutely love the book I've been reading, "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss! Her writing is beautiful, and I've also been reading to and from work on the bus, so I'm almost done now! After a couple hours of reading, we went to family dinner at which we found out that one of my roommates, Danielle, is supposed to be on the MTV reality show, TrueLife, because her boyfriend applied for it. So the majority of the hilarious dinner revolved around what they might be on it for. When we went back to the apartment, Rachelle and I watched a few episodes with her because none of us had seen it, and Danielle got pretty nervous because it's kind of a trashy show. She talked to her boyfriend and found out that the episode would be TrueLife: My girlfriend and I are really different, or something like that. She's still deciding.
We then had worship night, which I absolutely love! It's entirely student-led and voluntary, and it's so wonderful to have everyone come together for it. I honestly think it provides such a sense of unity. Then after that I watched the movie "Once" (which has amazingly beautiful music!) with Zack, Mark and Andrea, edited an article for Christina, and went to bed.
Yesterday (Tuesday) I spent most of the day at my internship working on research for a story I'm writing on the Fairness Doctrine. It basically calls for the airwaves to only present balanced news -- all sides have to be represented -- so basically Christian talk radio would cease to exist. The doctrine was abolished in the '80s, but there has been talk of it from some Democrats and some conservative groups are freaking out that it's going to be reintroduced. My personal viewpoint is that it's ridiculous and there's no way it's coming back -- it's SO unconstitutional and it would change all media as we know it -- but some people are hyped up about it, so I've been looking into that.
After work I went to the Capital Hill Baptist Bible study with David and Yvette, which is specifically for interns. I'm so glad I went! There was a group of about 40 interns doing all different types of work, originally from all over the U.S. (I even met a guy from Yorba Linda!), and it was seriously the most welcoming group. Everyone was so kind and friendly, and I really enjoyed the discussion too. I'm definitely going to try to go every week, and I'm so excited to get to know people outside of my program.
Today it snowed!! :) And I wrote the 800-word article about the Fairness Doctrine. It was exhausting. And then I got back from work, and my roommates and I had to cook very, very quickly for our floor progressive dinner. It was our turn to do the main course, and we decided to do breakfast, so we made pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon. Now, I am an expert scrambled egg maker, if I do say so myself, but bacon's a little out of my realm because 1) I think it's gross. 2) I don't like eating/making anything that's pork. 3) I don't think my family's ever made real bacon -- we always use turkey bacon, haha. And we were rushing, so Rachelle was using the prongs for her pan, and I had to use a fork ... and the scalding grease kept jumping up and burning me because I had to get so close. I actually, legitimately burned one of my fingers from the grease, so that's fun, haha.
We started out having fruit roll-ups and gushers in the guys' apartment (I was so happy about that, haha!), then we had our breakfast dinner, and then we had brownies and ice cream in the girls' apartment. And after that we all decided to play the concentration animal game, which was SO fun with 16 or 17 of us! I'm so glad that I had experience with that game -- Jeff and I ended up winning, haha. Then we played a similar game where you all have to keep the signs going without the person in the middle catching you. It was really fun! I love silly games like that :)
So there is my crazy-long update!! 
Also, I got another lunch special at Peking Garden this week (orange chicken -- mmm!), and my fortune was "You appreciate music and the arts." Once again, very true, but it's just not a fortune ...
Also, I got another lunch special at Peking Garden this week (orange chicken -- mmm!), and my fortune was "You appreciate music and the arts." Once again, very true, but it's just not a fortune ...
Friday, February 13, 2009
I can dry my hair in Chinese!
So I just found my fortune from my Wednesday adventure.
I had forgotten to bring lunch to work, so I decided to be brave and try something new. There was a really, really small (as in just a take-out/barely no room to stand to order/ultimate hole-in-the-wall) Chinese place right up the street from work called the Peking Garden (I think?), and I was really missing Chinese food. So I went there and ordered sweet and sour chicken, which was amazing and came with fried rice, an egg roll and a fortune cookie! And I just found the fortune cookie fortune in my purse!
It really confused me when I first pulled it out of the cookie because the title was "Learn Chinese," and then told me how to say "to dry hair" and showed me the characters. Pronounced: Chui feng. So now I'm set for when I visit Tracy in Beijing! But I was like, "This isn't a fortune! I feel so jipped!" It gave me my lucky numbers, one of which was 17, which IS my favorite number, but that wasn't enough to overrule the lack of fortune.
Then I turned it over. "You are sociable and entertaining." Yes, this might be true. So it's a fact. Not a fortune. What a sad decline of the state of fortune cookies!
And I didn't get sick from the Peking Garden. So that was a success!
Also, I really, really like walking to the Dupont Metro center after work and then taking the metro back to Union and then walking back to the apartments. The walk is just SO nice! And I like the metro and the people much, much better than the bus ride ... much, much better ... So that has been a pleasant experience these last few days!
Also, you should check out my story on evolution weekend!
I had forgotten to bring lunch to work, so I decided to be brave and try something new. There was a really, really small (as in just a take-out/barely no room to stand to order/ultimate hole-in-the-wall) Chinese place right up the street from work called the Peking Garden (I think?), and I was really missing Chinese food. So I went there and ordered sweet and sour chicken, which was amazing and came with fried rice, an egg roll and a fortune cookie! And I just found the fortune cookie fortune in my purse!
It really confused me when I first pulled it out of the cookie because the title was "Learn Chinese," and then told me how to say "to dry hair" and showed me the characters. Pronounced: Chui feng. So now I'm set for when I visit Tracy in Beijing! But I was like, "This isn't a fortune! I feel so jipped!" It gave me my lucky numbers, one of which was 17, which IS my favorite number, but that wasn't enough to overrule the lack of fortune.
Then I turned it over. "You are sociable and entertaining." Yes, this might be true. So it's a fact. Not a fortune. What a sad decline of the state of fortune cookies!
And I didn't get sick from the Peking Garden. So that was a success!
Also, I really, really like walking to the Dupont Metro center after work and then taking the metro back to Union and then walking back to the apartments. The walk is just SO nice! And I like the metro and the people much, much better than the bus ride ... much, much better ... So that has been a pleasant experience these last few days!
Also, you should check out my story on evolution weekend!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Journalism is sometimes like granite.
Tuesday:
I got to write about the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran. Honestly, this reminded me what journalism should be all about. The Baha'i faith is a peaceful religion, based on love and unity, but they have been stripped of all rights by the Muslim Regime for years. They can't own land, get a government job or pension, their marriages and divorces aren't recognized, many can't receive an education, they get arrested and executed under ridiculous charages ... It definitely took me aback reading the 2008 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. A group of Iranian professionals all over the world just signed a letter entitled "I Am Ashamed!" detailing their distress about being silent over such injustice in Iran for so long and promising to stand against it from here on out. This is the type of journalism that is meaningful and can make a difference. This is why I do what I do.
When I got back to my apartment, I made spinach and cheese raviolis with a spinach salad, and it was amazing. Then I helped Rachelle make eclair cake for our floor progressive dinner, which was last night. Also, I went to bed at, like, 11 p.m. that night -- be very, very proud of me!
Wednesday:
I wrote about the 67 organizations (some religious, some humanitarian) that wrote a letter urging Obama to sign the Mine Ban Treaty (10 years old) and the Convention on Cluster Munitions (Dec. 2008). Very interesting topic. Then I began working on a story about Evolution Weekend, in which over 1,000 congregations celebrate the union between evolution and faith. This is obviously a controversial topic, and I talked to a lot of people.
That night we had our progressive dinner! First, we had spinach dip and chips in the girls' apartment. Then we waited (and waited) for the boys to finish boiling their potatoes, and then we had baked potatoe with all the fixings in their apartment, and then we finally finished with the amazing eclair cake in our apartment. Fun!
We had a lot of leftover eclair cake, so Rachelle and I took it up to the guys on the top floor. Naturally, we ended up staying and talking forever, and suddenly it was past midnight. I definitely didn't get as much sleep as I had wanted! But it was definitely fun between viewing the photos from Tanzania of a half-eaten giraffe and reminiscing over old school Christian music groups.
Thursday (Today!):
I'm still in the office, so the day's only 2/3 gone. But I spent all day finishing the research for and writing a full article on Evolution Weekend. It was actually a frustrating process because talking to some of the more "fundamentalist/conservative" thinkers, I was struck with how they tended to talk to me, a news reporter, the same way that they would talk to a member of their congregation or a colleague. As I listened to one prominent conservative thinker tell me why he opposed Evolution Weekend, I literally teared up because I realized how easy it would be to misconstrue everything he was saying and portray him as crazily extreme, like the media often does with conservative Christians. I was so sad. And it hurt to have him put all that in my hands, the hands of a journalist, not even knowing what I would do with it. My responsibility suddenly felt very heavy.
I'm really glad for a bit of a break now. Three full days in a row like this kill me! And I'm expected to do this five days a week for how many years??
But when I leave in a few minutes, I'm going shopping for 80s clothes ... 80s dancing tomorrow night! Yeeeaaaaaahhh! :)
I got to write about the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran. Honestly, this reminded me what journalism should be all about. The Baha'i faith is a peaceful religion, based on love and unity, but they have been stripped of all rights by the Muslim Regime for years. They can't own land, get a government job or pension, their marriages and divorces aren't recognized, many can't receive an education, they get arrested and executed under ridiculous charages ... It definitely took me aback reading the 2008 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. A group of Iranian professionals all over the world just signed a letter entitled "I Am Ashamed!" detailing their distress about being silent over such injustice in Iran for so long and promising to stand against it from here on out. This is the type of journalism that is meaningful and can make a difference. This is why I do what I do.
When I got back to my apartment, I made spinach and cheese raviolis with a spinach salad, and it was amazing. Then I helped Rachelle make eclair cake for our floor progressive dinner, which was last night. Also, I went to bed at, like, 11 p.m. that night -- be very, very proud of me!
Wednesday:
I wrote about the 67 organizations (some religious, some humanitarian) that wrote a letter urging Obama to sign the Mine Ban Treaty (10 years old) and the Convention on Cluster Munitions (Dec. 2008). Very interesting topic. Then I began working on a story about Evolution Weekend, in which over 1,000 congregations celebrate the union between evolution and faith. This is obviously a controversial topic, and I talked to a lot of people.
That night we had our progressive dinner! First, we had spinach dip and chips in the girls' apartment. Then we waited (and waited) for the boys to finish boiling their potatoes, and then we had baked potatoe with all the fixings in their apartment, and then we finally finished with the amazing eclair cake in our apartment. Fun!
We had a lot of leftover eclair cake, so Rachelle and I took it up to the guys on the top floor. Naturally, we ended up staying and talking forever, and suddenly it was past midnight. I definitely didn't get as much sleep as I had wanted! But it was definitely fun between viewing the photos from Tanzania of a half-eaten giraffe and reminiscing over old school Christian music groups.
Thursday (Today!):
I'm still in the office, so the day's only 2/3 gone. But I spent all day finishing the research for and writing a full article on Evolution Weekend. It was actually a frustrating process because talking to some of the more "fundamentalist/conservative" thinkers, I was struck with how they tended to talk to me, a news reporter, the same way that they would talk to a member of their congregation or a colleague. As I listened to one prominent conservative thinker tell me why he opposed Evolution Weekend, I literally teared up because I realized how easy it would be to misconstrue everything he was saying and portray him as crazily extreme, like the media often does with conservative Christians. I was so sad. And it hurt to have him put all that in my hands, the hands of a journalist, not even knowing what I would do with it. My responsibility suddenly felt very heavy.
I'm really glad for a bit of a break now. Three full days in a row like this kill me! And I'm expected to do this five days a week for how many years??
But when I leave in a few minutes, I'm going shopping for 80s clothes ... 80s dancing tomorrow night! Yeeeaaaaaahhh! :)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Chai and Contemplation
Today was lovely. And I'm not just talking about weather.
We got out of class early, and Rachelle and I decided to take advantage of an open afternoon. We had both been wanting to spend some time in a coffee shop reading (and nearly done just that several times in the last week), and today was the day. We headed down to Ebenezer's, Rachelle to read "Kite Runner," and I to read "The History of Love." I ordered a delightful vanilla chai with raspberry, and then we went downstairs and found some cushy chairs.
And then we read. For almost two hours. I was in heaven, and I'm in love with this book already. Nicole Krauss, the author, uses such quaint means of characterization, and I absolutely love her writing. I'm so excited to dive into it again.
We also had family dinner tonight (heart-shaped meatloaf?), and as always, my friends and I were the last to leave. Zack gave me a lesson on the southern region of the United States, describing differences between the states and their preferred labels, and I now feel much better versed about this side of the country. And there was a huge map on the wall right behind us, and when I stood on a chair, I could point to different parts of California -- so convenient for tonight's purposes! A group of us also discussed the breakdowns of our families ... Be scared, Mom and Dad, they all know now that you're both MFTs, haha :)
And then Rachelle and I got into her bed/fort, and we just talked for a long time. I love life talks that just put everything and God into perspective. I'm so thankful that this girl was able to travel to the other side of the country with me.
We got out of class early, and Rachelle and I decided to take advantage of an open afternoon. We had both been wanting to spend some time in a coffee shop reading (and nearly done just that several times in the last week), and today was the day. We headed down to Ebenezer's, Rachelle to read "Kite Runner," and I to read "The History of Love." I ordered a delightful vanilla chai with raspberry, and then we went downstairs and found some cushy chairs.
And then we read. For almost two hours. I was in heaven, and I'm in love with this book already. Nicole Krauss, the author, uses such quaint means of characterization, and I absolutely love her writing. I'm so excited to dive into it again.
We also had family dinner tonight (heart-shaped meatloaf?), and as always, my friends and I were the last to leave. Zack gave me a lesson on the southern region of the United States, describing differences between the states and their preferred labels, and I now feel much better versed about this side of the country. And there was a huge map on the wall right behind us, and when I stood on a chair, I could point to different parts of California -- so convenient for tonight's purposes! A group of us also discussed the breakdowns of our families ... Be scared, Mom and Dad, they all know now that you're both MFTs, haha :)
And then Rachelle and I got into her bed/fort, and we just talked for a long time. I love life talks that just put everything and God into perspective. I'm so thankful that this girl was able to travel to the other side of the country with me.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
I ate a lot of food this weekend.
Exciting news: My article about the Pentecostal woman is on USA Today's web site!!And it's a been several days since I've written here, so strap in for a brief of my weekend!
So I didn't get much sleep Thursday night because of those papers, and in turn, I definitely didn't fare too well in class on Friday. After class, though, all of us in WJC went to Ebenezer's, this amazing coffee venue by Union Station that is actually run by the church I've attended several times here, and sat around with Terry for an hour or so talking about some of the events in town this weekend. And then just talking. The guy has been to way too many cool concerts. And knows Bono. Enough said.
After that I went out to Dupont Circle with Rachelle, Alex, Zack, Mark and Chris in search of dinner. We wandered around for quite a while before deciding on Berducci's, an Italian place that had the most wonderful rolls I've ever had as well as just all-around amazing food! Then when we got back, Rachelle, Mark, Zack, Chris and I all wanted to watch a movie, but it was late and we were tired so we opted for an episode of The Office instead. Since the tv in the lounge was taken, we watched in on my laptop in my and Rachelle's apartment. But one episode turned into three. And then we decided to talk for a really long time about everything, which was wonderful -- I'm definitely a fan of good conversation. We finally called it quits around 2 a.m.
I slept until 1 p.m. on Saturday, and it was beautiful. And then I had a 2-hour phone conversation with Aliayh, which was even more beautiful. After a much-needed shower, I walked with Rachelle to Safeway to get groceries and then afterwards went out to Chinatown in search of an interesting dinner. We settled on a Thai place that was AMAZING. Rachelle's chicken came in a pineapple. And I ate something with a really long name that consisted of ground chicken, pineapple, chili sauce, squash and shrimp. I'm pretty sure that Thai food is my favorite thing ever. I had tried it back in La Mirada and wasn't too impressed, but both times I've had it here, I've about died. So good!!
Then we heard from Alyssa and Yvette who wanted to go out for dessert, and we went back to get a little more dressed up. I finally got to wear my Bebe dress that I'm in love with, so I was happy! A bit after 10 we decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory, and Rachelle, Alyssa, Kati and I left ahead of Yvette and Christina to get a table. But it was an eventful travel. The nearest Cheesecake Factory is out off of Friendship Heights, and so we took the 92 bus which was supposed to connect with the metro. But we missed our stop (We think ... we might've been on the wrong bus, and the driver just lied to us, which was definitely probable ...) and we could see we weren't in the best area, so we decided we would just get off at the next stop and cough up the money to call a cab. But lo and behold, as we were pulling up to the stop, there was a metro sign! I say that was divine intervention, for us and our wallets! When we got to the Cheescake Factory it was 10 minutes before closing at midnight, and Yvette and Christina had been waiting for us for half an hour. But it was a lovely dessert, and we had a wonderful time together!
On Sunday I went to lunch with Russ and Amy Engevik, good family friends who were in DC checking out George Washington Medical School for Amy. We went to the restaurant in the middle of Union Station and then walked over to the White House and enjoyed the lovely day. It was really nice seeing people from California!
I then went with Zack, Mark, Kati and Abigail, who we ran into at the Metro, to a 5 p.m. service at Grace DC, which was definitely an interesting experience. I'm not quite sure how to classify that church. It was traditional in some senses (some of the music, the many different, almost ritualistic prayers) but then modern in others (some of the music, the involvement of fellowship). It was a longer service than I'm used to (almost 2 hours!), but the message on frustration was really good. And then we had an interesting Communion experience ...
So at Grace DC you go up to the front to take Communion and there are several different bread and drink options, two of which are of course wine and grape juice. Zack and Mark were in front of me, so I followed their lead and got the drink from the first platter and then went to the side to take it. Sidenote: These Communion glasses were massive!! At least five times the size of the dinky cups usually used. So anyways, it just took the first taste for all of us to realize that we had grabbed the wine. But we couldn't jut discard the full cup in the bin, so we choked it all down. So essentially, we broke the WJC covenant as well as our schools' individual contracts by accident. All because of Communion!
Then when I got back, Rachelle and I made chicken alfredo for dinner, and it went perfectly. Quite the uneventful cooking experience after chicken marsala! We were quite proud of ourselves, and we had an amazing dinner of chicken alfredo, spinach salad and cookies! And then we all went to work on our apartment chores, and I toiled to clean our disgusting kitchen, and it looks SO much better now!
Also, the weather has been amazing for the past few days!!!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A Church of Christ Pastor/Clinical MFT/Hypnotist??
A jack of all trades, right? That's who Chris is writing about right now, and I just find the whole scenario hilarious! The guy was recently chastised for performing hypnosis on St. John High School's basketball players at the request of the coach, who hoped it would help provide the players with better concentration and motivation. The school board thought it sent the wrong message. Enough said.
Today is my third day at RNS, and I have gotten the opportunity to write several more articles. Yesterday I wrote a brief on the fire yesterday morning at the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. It took two-and-a-half hours for firefighters to contain it, and although the roof had extensive fire damage and will need to rebuilt, the sanctuary was spared from the flames, although it sounds like there was pretty severe water damage. What a sad occurance for the 134-year-old historical cathedral.
Today I wrote a brief about a settlement between the Washington Metro and the U.S. Department of Justice involving religious discrimination. A woman of apostalic pentecostal faith was applying for the position of bus operator, and she requested the ability to wear a skirt instead of the slacks that are a part of the uniform, so as to stay in accordance with her religious practices. The application process was terminated at this point, and she made a complaint. The Metro decided to settle instead of taking it to court, and provided the woman with monetary compensation and is also required to form new policies to better accomodate employees' religious practices. I got to talk with members of two different groups that push for religious freedom in the workplace (one was Orthodox Jewish and the other was Baptist) about their take on this settlement, which was quite interesting.
Oh, and last night one of Chris' clips ended up on a little Web site for a little news organization called U.S.A. Today ... how cool is that?? My article on the post office is going out to subscribers later today, and I'm hoping I can at least get one full-length clip out of it. We shall see ...
Last night my floor had our first weekly progressive dinner, which was really fun! There are three apartments on my floor (two of girls, one of guys), and the girls in the apartment next to ours came up with the idea. Each apartment is assigned either the appetizer, the main course or the dessert, and then we travel from apartment to apartment over the course of the meal. First we had pizza bites in our apartment (We kind of forgot about it until last minute, haha ...), then we had amazingly delicious tortilla soup at the girls' apartment, and finally we had ice cream at the guys' apartment.
We all stayed over there for an additional hour because two of the guys decided to bust out their guitars (and one harmonica), and we had a group sing-a-long. "All Star," "Kiss Me," "Hallelujah" and "I'll Be" were the night's biggest hits. It was seriously so much fun! Honestly, I'm pretty sure that my favorite music in the world is just an acoustic guitar with singing ... the singing doesn't even have to be great, I just love hearing real voices to a real guitar. It was a really fun night, and I'm glad we're making it a tradition.
This is random, but I've realized how much I love to sing and how I'm not embarrassed anymore about how I sound. I would much rather just have fun than care about what I sound like :) I think a lot of that came from really getting into worship and watching those around me do the same. I think it's absolutely beautiful when someone who doesn't have a good voice pours themself into worship because you know they aren't doing it for show. It just seems so demonstrative of a heart full of love for Christ.
WJC and ASP had an optional worship night on Monday that was led by a girl on piano and a girl on guitar. About 20 to 25 of us met in the parlor and spent an hour singing and praying, and it was such a wonderful experience. It's amazing to me how strong of ties have already been developed between all of us, simply because we share the same faith and the same commitment to and love for Christ. We might not know a lot about each other's lives, pasts or personality quirks yet, but most of us can bond over a shared devotion and give each other support in that. It's funny how I've only realized in the last couple of years how absolutely imperative fellowship is. It's what we were created for.
Speaking of support and prayer, if anyone happens to think of it, I could definitely use some. I have two five-page papers due tomorrow, and I haven't started either yet. I know it's probably not a surprise to most of you, haha. I will get them done, and I will do a good job because I always do, but I'm just not looking forward to the long night ahead ...
On the plus side, the little cafe next to the RNS office called "Jolt 'N Bolt" probably has the best chai lattes ever :)
Today is my third day at RNS, and I have gotten the opportunity to write several more articles. Yesterday I wrote a brief on the fire yesterday morning at the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. It took two-and-a-half hours for firefighters to contain it, and although the roof had extensive fire damage and will need to rebuilt, the sanctuary was spared from the flames, although it sounds like there was pretty severe water damage. What a sad occurance for the 134-year-old historical cathedral.
Today I wrote a brief about a settlement between the Washington Metro and the U.S. Department of Justice involving religious discrimination. A woman of apostalic pentecostal faith was applying for the position of bus operator, and she requested the ability to wear a skirt instead of the slacks that are a part of the uniform, so as to stay in accordance with her religious practices. The application process was terminated at this point, and she made a complaint. The Metro decided to settle instead of taking it to court, and provided the woman with monetary compensation and is also required to form new policies to better accomodate employees' religious practices. I got to talk with members of two different groups that push for religious freedom in the workplace (one was Orthodox Jewish and the other was Baptist) about their take on this settlement, which was quite interesting.
Oh, and last night one of Chris' clips ended up on a little Web site for a little news organization called U.S.A. Today ... how cool is that?? My article on the post office is going out to subscribers later today, and I'm hoping I can at least get one full-length clip out of it. We shall see ...
Last night my floor had our first weekly progressive dinner, which was really fun! There are three apartments on my floor (two of girls, one of guys), and the girls in the apartment next to ours came up with the idea. Each apartment is assigned either the appetizer, the main course or the dessert, and then we travel from apartment to apartment over the course of the meal. First we had pizza bites in our apartment (We kind of forgot about it until last minute, haha ...), then we had amazingly delicious tortilla soup at the girls' apartment, and finally we had ice cream at the guys' apartment.
We all stayed over there for an additional hour because two of the guys decided to bust out their guitars (and one harmonica), and we had a group sing-a-long. "All Star," "Kiss Me," "Hallelujah" and "I'll Be" were the night's biggest hits. It was seriously so much fun! Honestly, I'm pretty sure that my favorite music in the world is just an acoustic guitar with singing ... the singing doesn't even have to be great, I just love hearing real voices to a real guitar. It was a really fun night, and I'm glad we're making it a tradition.
This is random, but I've realized how much I love to sing and how I'm not embarrassed anymore about how I sound. I would much rather just have fun than care about what I sound like :) I think a lot of that came from really getting into worship and watching those around me do the same. I think it's absolutely beautiful when someone who doesn't have a good voice pours themself into worship because you know they aren't doing it for show. It just seems so demonstrative of a heart full of love for Christ.
WJC and ASP had an optional worship night on Monday that was led by a girl on piano and a girl on guitar. About 20 to 25 of us met in the parlor and spent an hour singing and praying, and it was such a wonderful experience. It's amazing to me how strong of ties have already been developed between all of us, simply because we share the same faith and the same commitment to and love for Christ. We might not know a lot about each other's lives, pasts or personality quirks yet, but most of us can bond over a shared devotion and give each other support in that. It's funny how I've only realized in the last couple of years how absolutely imperative fellowship is. It's what we were created for.
Speaking of support and prayer, if anyone happens to think of it, I could definitely use some. I have two five-page papers due tomorrow, and I haven't started either yet. I know it's probably not a surprise to most of you, haha. I will get them done, and I will do a good job because I always do, but I'm just not looking forward to the long night ahead ...
On the plus side, the little cafe next to the RNS office called "Jolt 'N Bolt" probably has the best chai lattes ever :)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Day One.
So it's official: I'm an intern at RNS! I have my own desk, my own computer and even my own extension! It's pretty exciting. I definitely didn't have these perks when I worked at Coast Magazine.
Chris and I got on the 8:07 bus this morning and took the half-hour drive over to the RNS offices. We were a little early, so we spent a bit of time walking around the streets and getting snowed on. The snow was absolutely perfect, by the way. It was the type with really big snowflakes that sticks to your hair and your clothes but melts once it hits the ground ... Perfect!
The first thing we did this morning was struggle alongside Adelle, the associate editor, to set up each of our voicemails, which took much longer than you might think ... But once I had the phone figured out, the toughest part of the day was done! Chris and I were then assigned to different online publications to check first thing every morning, and we're supposed to pass along any religion or ethical news to Kevin, the editor-in-chief. I then began making some calls for my article (which I will discuss in a bit), and I have to say, I was really, really excited about the ear/mouth piece I got to wear while talking on the phone! I had never used one like that before, and it makes typing notes while talking to someone SO much easier. We had an editorial meeting around noon and after that I grabbed some pizza with Chris at a hole-in-the-wall place up the street.
Then I really got to work on my article. I won't lie, the topic is not one that I would have chosen for myself. But I've learned over the last few years that you can make just about any subject interesting if you invest yourself in it and try to put yourself in the shoes of those who the story is about or those who will be impacted by it. In a weird way, it's almost a certain level of selflessness that I try to achieve.
The U.S. Postal Office made a proposal to Congress last week to have permission to only deliver mail five days out of the week instead of six. The decision is still pending, but some members of smaller publications have voiced concerns. Larger publications have deals worked out with the national post office, but smaller ones have to deal with the local post offices, which can apparently be really frustrating and result in late deliveries.
I talked to a bunch of people, either involved in publications for churches or pastors who receive such publications, to get their stories and insights on this topic. I also talked to the manager of media relations for the U.S. Postal Service who, after listening to my work voicemail ("Hello, this is Karin Hamilton with RNS. I am either away from my desk or on the other line. I am in the office Tuesday through Thursday. For emergencies, dial 0"), had a laugh attack on the phone with me because he thought that the idea of an emergency for religion or ethics was funny. He kept asking me what an example of such would be. And it was a little funny. But definitely not as funny as he thought it was.
Anyways, I spent the entire afternoon/early evening either on the phone, waiting for one of a million people to call me back, researching, and writing, writing and re-writing this article. I finally finished it, all 600 words, around 5:30. And so I emailed my first story to Kevin! Now I'm just waiting for him to tear it to shreds ... Then Chris and I left and literally missed the bus by a matter of seconds (just like Friday!!) and had to wait for probably 20 minutes for the next one. And it was cold. It wasn't snowing anymore. But it was very cold. And I was in a skirt. It was cold. But overall, it was a great first day! I absolutely love the editors, and I'm so excited about the material covered. And I love that they let us dive right into reporting. I'm excited to see what tomorrow holds!
Fun, random event of the evening: I tend to get horrible cravings for ice cream, and even though it is freezing here, these cravings have magnified since moving to DC! So I brought up that I wanted ice cream tonight (like I do nearly every night), and Rachelle said she wanted some too ... and then so did Kati ... and Chris didn't know it, but he must have too since he found us on the way out ... anyways, we made a run to the 7-11 up the street (I looked like a hobo in my horribly mis-matched cut-off sweats, black pea coat, and work flats, haha!) in the cold to buy ice cream and bring it back. I got Cherry Garcia -- mmmmmm! What a sweet ending to day one.
Chris and I got on the 8:07 bus this morning and took the half-hour drive over to the RNS offices. We were a little early, so we spent a bit of time walking around the streets and getting snowed on. The snow was absolutely perfect, by the way. It was the type with really big snowflakes that sticks to your hair and your clothes but melts once it hits the ground ... Perfect!
The first thing we did this morning was struggle alongside Adelle, the associate editor, to set up each of our voicemails, which took much longer than you might think ... But once I had the phone figured out, the toughest part of the day was done! Chris and I were then assigned to different online publications to check first thing every morning, and we're supposed to pass along any religion or ethical news to Kevin, the editor-in-chief. I then began making some calls for my article (which I will discuss in a bit), and I have to say, I was really, really excited about the ear/mouth piece I got to wear while talking on the phone! I had never used one like that before, and it makes typing notes while talking to someone SO much easier. We had an editorial meeting around noon and after that I grabbed some pizza with Chris at a hole-in-the-wall place up the street.
Then I really got to work on my article. I won't lie, the topic is not one that I would have chosen for myself. But I've learned over the last few years that you can make just about any subject interesting if you invest yourself in it and try to put yourself in the shoes of those who the story is about or those who will be impacted by it. In a weird way, it's almost a certain level of selflessness that I try to achieve.
The U.S. Postal Office made a proposal to Congress last week to have permission to only deliver mail five days out of the week instead of six. The decision is still pending, but some members of smaller publications have voiced concerns. Larger publications have deals worked out with the national post office, but smaller ones have to deal with the local post offices, which can apparently be really frustrating and result in late deliveries.
I talked to a bunch of people, either involved in publications for churches or pastors who receive such publications, to get their stories and insights on this topic. I also talked to the manager of media relations for the U.S. Postal Service who, after listening to my work voicemail ("Hello, this is Karin Hamilton with RNS. I am either away from my desk or on the other line. I am in the office Tuesday through Thursday. For emergencies, dial 0"), had a laugh attack on the phone with me because he thought that the idea of an emergency for religion or ethics was funny. He kept asking me what an example of such would be. And it was a little funny. But definitely not as funny as he thought it was.
Anyways, I spent the entire afternoon/early evening either on the phone, waiting for one of a million people to call me back, researching, and writing, writing and re-writing this article. I finally finished it, all 600 words, around 5:30. And so I emailed my first story to Kevin! Now I'm just waiting for him to tear it to shreds ... Then Chris and I left and literally missed the bus by a matter of seconds (just like Friday!!) and had to wait for probably 20 minutes for the next one. And it was cold. It wasn't snowing anymore. But it was very cold. And I was in a skirt. It was cold. But overall, it was a great first day! I absolutely love the editors, and I'm so excited about the material covered. And I love that they let us dive right into reporting. I'm excited to see what tomorrow holds!
Fun, random event of the evening: I tend to get horrible cravings for ice cream, and even though it is freezing here, these cravings have magnified since moving to DC! So I brought up that I wanted ice cream tonight (like I do nearly every night), and Rachelle said she wanted some too ... and then so did Kati ... and Chris didn't know it, but he must have too since he found us on the way out ... anyways, we made a run to the 7-11 up the street (I looked like a hobo in my horribly mis-matched cut-off sweats, black pea coat, and work flats, haha!) in the cold to buy ice cream and bring it back. I got Cherry Garcia -- mmmmmm! What a sweet ending to day one.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Karin ... Cooking ... ???
Rachelle and I never got food poisoning from our chicken marsala, so we were successful! And get ready to be surprised ... I actually kind of really like cooking and making my own meals! I know, quite the shocker for most of you, but I think it's fun! It's actually relaxing to take a little bit of time out of the day to put together a nice meal. I'm still learning, but hey, if Melissa became a domestic goddess while in DC, maybe the same will be said for me and Rachelle :)
Settled.
I found my "me and God" place here.
I can stand living in just about any place as long as I find a location in which I get away to. It has to be outside, have an atmosphere that is relaxing or meaningful to me, and it typically needs to be secluded or at least make me feel like I am alone. At Biola it is most commonly in the grass beneath this particular tree near the McNally campus. At home it is the Laguna Niguel Community Park, either on a bench or under a tree. Here, in DC, it is the deck on the top of the apartments.
Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful, balmy-50, clear day, and I dragged Rachelle up to the deck to enjoy the weather and get some photos of the views. Of course, this naturally turned into a windy photo shoot, but amidst the laughter, I was taken by the simple beauty. The wood of the benches and the fencing is well-worn, but I found it all very quaint: the crooked "Narnia lamps," the peak with the circular window in front, and even the splintery wood.
Furthermore, the view is both charming and breathtaking. An old-fashioned red brick church can be seen from behind, and the street in front is lined with trees currently consisting of long, bare branches, all painting the appearance of a little street in a small town. There was even a dog in the yard adjacent to our building yesterday that took up to glowering up at me and barking for the first five minutes we were out there. Small town. Cozy. Familiar.
But then looking farther out in front, the dome of the Capitol is clear as can be. I was grasped by the fact that the nation is being shaped daily there, right in front of me. People at home and across the seas are being affected every day by decisions made in that building. As I widened my vision, I could see the peaks of many prominent buildings. Looking around, buildings of all heights, shapes and colors go as far as the eye can see. I was struck with how many millions of people I was surrounded by, all with their own lives, their own meanings and their own views and relationships with God. There are so many people here. Some might be doing great things with their lives while others are simply watching it all pass by. Some might know God while others run. All are experiencing some degree of love and pain, exhuberance and disappointment.
I went back up there this afternoon, bundled only in a zip-up sweatshirt, and spent over an hour talking with God, reading his Word and writing. With the city -- our nation's capitol -- and the lives of millions stretched in front of me, I felt I could put more into perspective. Rediscover the meaning of being here, both here as in DC and here as in alive. Remember God's impact in my life, particularly over the hardships of this last year. If I were just living for myself, for my own achievement and happiness, I can guarantee that I would be depressed, or at least unfulfilled. I'm so thankful I'm not living for myself.
I start with internship with Religion News Service tomorrow at 9 a.m. I really am excited. This news wire provides unbiased news coverage of religion and ethical issues to over 100 publications all over the nation, including the Times, USA Today and the Washington Post. There is such potential to reach people everywhere. I am expecting difficult, frustrating, disappointing and probably boring times throughout the semester. But I want to do everything, big and small, with all the effort and passion I can muster. I want to glorify God with this work and be open to whatever He wants to show me through this experience. I don't know what I'm doing with my life. Simple as that. But I'm looking to God for answers, and I have faith He will reveal with time. And I know He can use my time here. I'm not expecting much, but I want to aim high in all I do. This was all mulled over on the deck this afternoon, as I was feeling the wind rush through my face and hair, overlooking the Capitol and the lives of millions.
I realize that when the snow and the rain and the negative degree weather starts up again this choice of location will either 1) Be impossible or 2) God will grant me with either more courage or more body fat. And I also realize that when the weather gets nicer, more students will probably begin frequenting this beautiful nook. But I think I will keep it. These little things are often the key to my sanity as well as an abundance of joy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)